Another Lutterloh Shirt, a Rayon Skirt and Sewing Machine Love...

A finished Lutterloh shirt - the second time around, and this time in a rather flashy Amy Butler print I had purchased on sale a few years back. Here is the original post about the black and white shirt. I didn't alter the pattern, as I like the rather unfitted very early 90s-ness of this pattern. After doing buttonholes and buttons, I am finished running my new machine through its paces. The machine has now finished 8 projects since I got it in June, and now I can put it back to the purpose I bought it for, namely to do my quilting. So, that means finish the binding on the quilt I have already quilted and then get busy on the next quilt!    I also add an illustration of the shirt pattern here for your enjoyment.

Meanwhile, I have also made a rayon skirt on the machine - here is the fabric, but I have no picture of the skirt - it is another second time around Lutterloh pattern, and a simple skirt to make with either two pieces or three if you need to cut two halves of the back to use a small cut of fabric, which is what I did do this time. The rayon is the perfect fabric for this A line skirt. I bought a top with a half cowl neckline to match this shirt. Knit top, tunic actually. Good old Land's End.

I can say that I am seriously happy and satisfied with the Janome Memory Craft 6300.  A few of the things that are different on this machine: you need to turn it on with the presser foot in the down position. I don't know why, but you do. If you don't - it tells you so and tells you to put that foot down and turn it on again. :) Then there is getting used to the knee lift and the thread cutter - neither of which you want to try while the machine is running! Makes sense, but it took me some focus on what I was doing to make this second nature. Running through 8 sewing projects in this little time frame was good for me because I had to do buttonholes, I had to do whatever it took, and the machine is able to flawlessly sew over multiple layers, over delicate fabrics and heavier fabrics, and then turn around and make really nice auto buttonholes! When you have the sensor buttonhole selected (the one where you put the button in the back and it knows how big to make the buttonhole) it automatically cuts the thread for you after the buttonhole. very slick feature! You can also adjust both the density of the buttonhole stitching and the width of each arm (leg? side?)of the buttonhole! WOW.